Home > Books > Genesis

Genesis 9

God blessed Noah and his sons, instructing them to multiply and fill the earth, and giving them dominion over the animals, with the exception that they were not to eat flesh with blood. God also established a covenant with Noah and his descendants, promising never again to destroy the earth with a flood, and designating the rainbow as a sign of this covenant. After the flood, Noah became a farmer, planted a vineyard, and became drunk, leading to an incident in which his son Ham saw him naked, while his other sons, Shem and Japheth, covered him without looking. As a result, Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan, declaring that he would be a servant to his brothers.

And God blessed Noah and his sons. And he said to them: "Increase, and multiply, and fill the earthAnd let the fear and trembling of you be upon all the animals of the earth, and upon all the birds of the air, along with all that moves across the earth. All the fish of the sea have been delivered into your handAnd everything that moves and lives will be food for you. Just as with the edible plants, I have delivered them all to youexcept that flesh with blood you shall not eatFor I will examine the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast. So also, at the hand of mankind, at the hand of each man and his brother, I will examine the life of mankindWhoever will shed human blood, his blood will be poured out. For man was indeed made to the image of GodBut as for you: increase and multiply, and go forth upon the earth and fulfill it.To Noah and to his sons with him, God also said this"Behold, I will establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after youand with every living soul that is with you: as much with the birds as with the cattle and all the animals of the earth that have gone forth from the ark, and with all the wild beasts of the earthI will establish my covenant with you, and no longer will all that is flesh be put to death by the waters of a great flood, and, henceforth, there will not be a great flood to utterly destroy the earth.And God said: "This is the sign of the pact that I grant between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generationsI will place my arc in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the pact between myself and the earthAnd when I obscure the sky with clouds, my arc will appear in the cloudsAnd I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that enlivens flesh. And there will no longer be waters from a great flood to wipe away all that is fleshAnd the arc will be in the clouds, and I will see it, and I will remember the everlasting covenant that was enacted between God and every living soul of all that is flesh upon the earth.And God said to Noah, "This will be the sign of the covenant that I have established between myself and all that is flesh upon the earth.And so the sons of Noah, who came out of the ark, were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now Ham himself is the father of CanaanThese three are the sons of Noah. And from these all the family of mankind was spread over the whole earthAnd Noah, a good farmer, began to cultivate the land, and he planted a vineyardAnd by drinking its wine, he became inebriated and was naked in his tentBecause of this, when Ham, the father of Canaan, had indeed seen the privates of his father to be naked, he reported it to his two brothers outsideAnd truly, Shem and Japheth put a cloak upon their arms, and, advancing backwards, covered the privates of their father. And their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s manhoodThen Noah, awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to himhe said, "Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants will he be to his brothers.And he said: "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, let Canaan be his servantMay God enlarge Japheth, and may he live in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.And after the great flood, Noah lived for three hundred and fifty yearsAnd all his days were completed in nine hundred and fifty years, and then he died
Share this chapter